Since it sank in 1862, Monitor has become an artificial reef attracting numerous fish species, including amberjack, black sea bass, oyster toadfish, and great barracuda.

Swamped by high waves while under tow by the sidewheel paddle steamer USS Rhode Island, she sank on December 31, 1862, in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras.

In 1974, the United States Navy and the National Geographic Society launched a second expedition that confirmed the identity of Monitor and produced detailed photographic documentation of the wreck site.

[6] Initial dives in the 1970s and later research expeditions in the early 1990s have indicated that Monitor’s iron hull, having been inundated with salt water for about 130 years, was deteriorating at an accelerated rate.

In 1998, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed a plan to recover significant "iconic" sections of the wreck for conservation and public display.

[9] Many artifacts from Monitor, including her turret, propeller, anchor, stam engine, delicate glass bottles, lumps of coal, wood paneling, a leather book cover, and even walnut halves, have been conserved and are on display at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.