Sorry to disagree with you guys, but the Monitor is every bit as important, historically, as the Vaasa or the Mary Rose, or even the Sutton Hoo burial ship. To see this vessel preserved would be a good idea, and it is somewhat presumptuous to put sentimental words into a dead mans mouth. My guess is that his last words were "Get me out of here", but that is irrelevant, too. Get her up, put her on show, let her be a memorial to those who fought and died at sea during the war between the states. I only wish that the Alabama could be raised intact from the ocean bed and put on display this side of the pond.
I can see where you are coming from, and sympathise to a certain extent. But given another five hundred years YOU would expect to have such an historic vessel preserved, wouldn't you?