diff --git a/src/libxrpl/nodestore/DatabaseRotatingImp.cpp b/src/libxrpl/nodestore/DatabaseRotatingImp.cpp
index 4b5d1ee2d8..c83d79e20e 100644
--- a/src/libxrpl/nodestore/DatabaseRotatingImp.cpp
+++ b/src/libxrpl/nodestore/DatabaseRotatingImp.cpp
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ DatabaseRotatingImp::sweep()
 std::shared_ptr<NodeObject>
 DatabaseRotatingImp::fetchNodeObject(
     uint256 const& hash,
-    std::uint32_t,
+    std::uint32_t ledgerSeq,
     FetchReport& fetchReport,
     bool duplicate)
 {
@@ -189,12 +189,6 @@ DatabaseRotatingImp::fetchNodeObject(
         nodeObject = fetch(archive);
         if (nodeObject)
         {
-            {
-                // Refresh the writable backend pointer
-                std::scoped_lock const lock(mutex_);
-                writable = writableBackend_;
-            }
-
             // Update writable backend with data from the archive backend.
             // While a rotation is in flight, ordinary (duplicate == false)
             // reads served by the archive are copied forward too: the
@@ -203,8 +197,18 @@ DatabaseRotatingImp::fetchNodeObject(
             // otherwise survive only in RAM once the archive is dropped.
             if (duplicate || rotationInFlight_.load(std::memory_order_acquire))
             {
+                {
+                    // Refresh the writable backend pointer
+                    std::scoped_lock const lock(mutex_);
+                    writable = writableBackend_;
+                }
+
                 if (!duplicate)
+                {
+                    JLOG(j_.warn()) << "Rotating: copy node for ledger " << ledgerSeq
+                                    << " from archive to writable backend: " << hash;
                     ++copyForwardCount_;
+                }
                 writable->store(nodeObject);
             }
         }