[6][7] His brother, Robert W. Monroe, was later appointed by United States President Grover Cleveland as an Indian agent in Idaho.

[1][6] To accomplish this feat, he taught school during the winter months, and worked the family's farm during the growing season.

[1][2] While studying law, he was elected to represent Hampshire County in the Virginia House of Delegates alongside William P. Stump between 1850 and 1851.

[1][11][12] Monroe and Job N. Cookus purchased the Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser newspaper in Romney in 1861.

[18] Monroe and Cookus continued serving as its editors and publishers until the Union Army closed down the Advertiser's offices in August 1861, after which the newspaper was not revived.

[6][10][16] Following the outbreak of the American Civil War in July 1861, Monroe commanded the 114th Regiment of the Virginia militia with the rank of colonel.

[4][10] On October 26, 1861, Monroe's 114th Regiment took part in a skirmish against a unit within the left column formation of Union Army troops under the command of Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Kelley.

[4][6][20] While serving in the Confederate States Army, Monroe completed another term as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates between 1862 and 1865.

[2][12][24] During the Reconstruction Era, Confederate veterans were initially prohibited from holding public office or from practicing law in West Virginia without taking a test oath.

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill in 1868 that allowed Monroe to practice law without having to swear an oath.

[26] Monroe and Armstrong represented the county at the West Virginia Constitutional Convention in January 1872 in Charleston.

[26][24][27] In 1875, Monroe returned to politics when he was elected as a Democrat to represent Hampshire County in the West Virginia House of Delegates for one two-year term.

[34] In 1881, Monroe was a member of the Joint Revisory Committee, which was charged with amending the laws and statutes of the West Virginia Code.

In 1887 he and Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy were the defense attorneys for Annie Offner, who had been accused of murdering her lover Benjamin Brooks.

[36] On February 23, 1871, the West Virginia Legislature passed an act incorporating the South Branch Railway Company, responsible for the construction and operation of a branch line connecting Romney with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad main line at Green Spring.

[37] During his later years, Monroe resided on his farm on the Little Cacapon River in the Barnes Mill community of Hampshire County.