HuH? and HuH? (Only a raised eyebrow, not a shout)
Where is the 1800 date? The only way you can get that is by tying to "All Around My Hat" which is tenuous in the extreme. Both melody and words differ.

The oldest "Yellow Ribbon" found is the 1917 version posted by Masato. The DT mentions mid-1800s based on no evidence. There also is no evidence except guesses for late 1800s. I think the melody was arranged by George A. Norton (the composer of the words in Masato's post) from a quickstep and coulld be older, but that is speculation.

The link I posted, 30091, has nothing to do with the oak tree.