He said 1870s, so I listed Civil War material. Ten years after the war, most were still favorites.
Yellow Ribbon was discussed in threads 15359, 30091 and 53525; this is the best: Yellow ribbon" .
The words to Yellow ribbon are post-WW1.

But where did the melody come from? It has been called English, Irish and German in various postings and Google, but no definite information.