Subsequent " Express " runs were more successful . Between 29 August and 4 September , various Japanese light cruisers , destroyers , and patrol boats were able to land almost 5 @,@ 000 troops at Taivu Point , including all of the 35th Infantry Brigade , one battalion of the Aoba Regiment , and the rest of Ichiki 's regiment . General Kawaguchi , who landed at Taivu Point on the 31 August Express run , was placed in command of all the Japanese troops on Guadalcanal . On the night of 4 / 5 September , as three of the Express destroyers — Yūdachi , Hatsuyuki , and Murakumo — prepared to shell Henderson Field after landing their troops , they detected and sank two U.S. ships in the vicinity , the small , old destroyer transports ( called " APDs " by the U.S. Marines ) USS Little and Gregory that were used to shuttle Allied troops around the Guadalcanal / Tulagi area .