I am intrigued by your dilemma of finding your relative, Amos Crane's, resting place. I also sympathize for you because I know how difficult it is to reach a dead end.
I want to help you. I live near the Sandy Ridge area. It is a tiny community on State Hwy 31 in Loundnes County. All that is left of pre-Civil War Sandy Ridge is the Sandy Ridge Methodist Church, a cemetery, old buildings and an old house/mansion (J. S. Williamson House) that is on the historic register. You note that your relative died April 24th, 3 weeks after the war was over. That makes me curious about what troops might be doing in Lowndes County. The last battle in Alabama was in nearby Selma, Al, (Dallas Co.). That battle was in April 1965. Old men and young boys were left to defend the city; Union troops quickly won. Their objective was to destroy cannons and ammunition that were made there. They pushed the cannons into the river where they remain today. If you look at a map, you can see how Dallas Co., Loundes Co. and Montgomery Counties all line up side by side. You will also remember how the civil rights marchers marched from Selma/Dallas Co., through Loundes Co. (remember some people were killed there), then Montgomery. Their march followed Hwy 82 east to west. But look at the map again. Sandy Ridge is in the lowest part of Loundes County and it makes no sense (I would think) to detour that far south to get to Montgomery where they probably were going to hop a boat north. There's a small chance that they might have been headed towards nearby Ft. Deposit in Loundes Co. to catch a train. I know I have offered no answers, but I hope this adds some perspective on your search.
Now what really bothers me is that I am fairly familiar with all the cemeteries in Loundes Co. as I have many kin folk in my family tree buried in them. I am not aware of any union soldiers buried in Loundes Co. I've never heard of any "mass graves" or field hospitals either. It would make more sense to me that he may be buried in Montgomery's oldest cemetery, Oak Hill. Or a single unmarked grave, but I don't think there was a mass grave site.
Outside of your research, what can I do to help you?
Brenda McAllister
surnames: Adams, Boen, Cook, Jones, Majors, Webb, Whittle