THE FLAGS OF TEXAS
The Warring States Period of Texian history saw much confusion on the battlefield - not just from the usual fog of war, but due to heraldry. For a time, every side was claiming to legitimately represent Texas (well, not the Comanche or the Germans, obviously). In order to alleviate this, other flags beyond the usual Lone Star were flown by various factions at various times. While the French-backed forces never wavered in their use of the old national flag - having the heaviest burden of proving their legitimacy - a variety of other banners were used. A few are sampled below.
FREE TEXAS
The Burnet Flag. Designed by David Burnet as a provisional flag for the Republic of Texas in 1836. Historians speculate that Burnet ignored the project until the last minute, woke up hung over 15 minutes before the flag was due, and simply recolored the Bonnie Blue flag of West Florida, very possibly in crayon. David Burnet: Hog thief AND flag thief.
The 1836. A simple design, reminding Texians of the revolution whose values they were upholding and the Constitution they were defending. At least, in theory. In reality, it's pretty fucking hard to notice a small '1836' in the middle of a smoky battlefield while people are getting their legs knocked off by canon, so the efficacy of this design was limited.
The Patriot Banner. "Shoot, what country are we fighting for agai-OHHHH. Whew, thank goodness for that flag."
The Goliad Flag. Settlers at Goliad were some of the earliest Texians who voted for independence, signing their very own declaration of independence. Inspired by the patriotism of the Goliad people and the admittedly awesome
arm cutting itself off with a sword symbol, it was adopted by some in the Army. Conveniently left unsaid: Goliad surrendered and everyone was murdered by the Mexican Army.
The Independence Flag. The snake represents Texas, and the hand is the French. Or, wait. The
hand is Texas, the snake represents the constant struggle to keep independence. Or, no. Wait. The hand represents
independence, or...
In the end, after Edwards Plateau, the West Texians mostly defaulted on the plain Lone Star, as there was less immediate contact and conflict with the East - at least, in the form of armed military clashes. Beyond that, the most common variants were the Patriot Banner and a Burnet/Lone Star hybrid, basically the Lone Star with a golden star rather than white.
RIO GRANDE
The RRG's flag is based off the original Rio Grande flag from 1840. No one could quite agree on what the color of the lower bar had been, but in the end the TOTALLY ORIGINAL red-white-blue combination won out. The five stars represent the first Ranches that signed the Declaration of Independence - King, Forrest, Maverick, Pierce, and Snyder.
COMANCHE
The Comanche weren't really big flag users. They rather preferred war shields, which were more durable and which could be actively utilized in killing people. The ever-industrious John Rayner, whose ancestors came to know all too well that white people will roll right over you and put their flags all over your shit if you don't first, set out to change that. At the Sun Dance gathering, Rayner attempted to learn the native sign language that was used between tribes with different dialects. The sign for 'Shoshone' was a snakelike movement, and the sign for 'Comanche' was the reverse - a snake slithering backwards. With the snake motif in mind, Rayner designed this flag for the joint Comanche/Freedmen forces. At this point, it is not in wide use.
GERMANS
Many of the Germans who make up the population of the Deutsch colonies were revolutionaries who fled after the 1848 rebellions collapsed. Between that and the fact that many of the Germans in the colonies were from different German nations, the use of the pan-Germanic tricolor seemed more than appropriate. But how to give it that unique, Texian Deutsch feel? Hey, put a snake on it! No one's done that bef-aww, damn. Well, what animal represents the cunning and strong defenses of the Deutsch colonies, an animal that can survive in the rocky heights of the Hill Country, something that would strike terror into the heart of the colonies' opponents? Only the animal they called panzerschwein.
And its nice that you were able to include a Burnet joke; I've missed him since his death 