In spite of the successes of the destroyer runs , Kawaguchi insisted that as many soldiers of his brigade as possible be delivered to Guadalcanal by slow barges . Therefore , a convoy carrying 1 @,@ 100 of Kawaguchi 's troops and heavy equipment in 61 barges , mainly from the 2nd Battalion , 124th Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Akinosuka Oka , departed the northern coast of Santa Isabel Island on 2 September . On 4 – 5 September , aircraft from Henderson Field attacked the barge convoy , killing about 90 of the soldiers in the barges and destroying much of the unit 's heavy equipment . Most of the remaining 1 @,@ 000 troops were able to land near Kamimbo ( 9 ° 15 ′ 32 ″ S 159 ° 40 ′ 18 ″ E ) , west of the Lunga perimeter over the next few days . By 7 September , Kawaguchi had 5 @,@ 200 troops at Taivu Point and 1 @,@ 000 west of the Lunga perimeter . Kawaguchi was confident enough that he could defeat the Allied forces facing him that he declined an offer from the 17th Army for delivery of one more infantry battalion to augment his forces . Kawaguchi believed that it were only about 2 @,@ 000 U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal .