Searching Google Books I came across this article in a September 1868 issue of Historical Magazine (pp. 126-130). In it, the author proposes an American heraldry system.
http://books.google.com/books?id=lnwFAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA127&dq=american+heraldry&cd=6#v=onepage&q=american heraldry&f=false
Great find!