diff --git a/t/t3203-branch-output.sh b/t/t3203-branch-output.sh
index f51d0f3cad..16efe7af03 100755
--- a/t/t3203-branch-output.sh
+++ b/t/t3203-branch-output.sh
@@ -106,6 +106,19 @@ EOF
 	test_i18ncmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'git branch shows detached HEAD properly after checkout --detach' '
+	git checkout master &&
+	cat >expect <<EOF &&
+* (HEAD detached at $(git rev-parse --short HEAD^0))
+  branch-one
+  branch-two
+  master
+EOF
+	git checkout --detach &&
+	git branch >actual &&
+	test_i18ncmp expect actual
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'git branch shows detached HEAD properly after moving' '
 	cat >expect <<EOF &&
 * (HEAD detached from $(git rev-parse --short HEAD))
diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
index c327fe8128..3e3b8c0989 100644
--- a/wt-status.c
+++ b/wt-status.c
@@ -1319,6 +1319,12 @@ static int grab_1st_switch(unsigned char *osha1, unsigned char *nsha1,
 	hashcpy(cb->nsha1, nsha1);
 	for (end = target; *end && *end != '\n'; end++)
 		;
+	if (!memcmp(target, "HEAD", end - target)) {
+		/* HEAD is relative. Resolve it to the right reflog entry. */
+		strbuf_addstr(&cb->buf,
+			      find_unique_abbrev(nsha1, DEFAULT_ABBREV));
+		return 1;
+	}
 	strbuf_add(&cb->buf, target, end - target);
 	return 1;
 }