Location
Located inland from Henderson Field, forming the southern edge of the Marine perimeter. This ridge was known by a number of names: Edsons Ridge, Marine Ridge, Lunga Ridge, Raider Ridge and Bloody Ridge. The Japanese referred to it as 'The Centipede', for the ridge line's shape from the air.

Martin Clemens recalled in 1998:
"One thing that I should like to correct the term Bloody Ridge is a journalists invention. To those of us who were there it is Edsons Ridge or Raider Ridge. War is bloody enough without naming a ridge like that. It should be named after Edson, the fellow who defended it. I organized to put the Pyramid memorial up there and was also involved in the memorial near the [Henderson Field] control tower that was dedicated in 1992."

Battle of Bloody Ridge
After the Marines established their perimeter and defeated the Japanese Army attempts to attack along the Ilu River and Matanikau River. The Japanese Army 35th Infantry Brigade led by General Kawaguchi planned to attack the Marine perimeter from the inland side, under the canopy of the jungle and capture Henderson Field. The logistics of moving his forces in position to attack was hampered by the same jungle.

The ridge was defended by several US Marine units, including the 1st Raider Battalion and 1st Parachute Battalions under U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson. The Marines had reinforced the ridge line prior to the attack, and registered artillery on likely approaches.

The Japanese probed the Marine positions on September 12, 1942, and ferociously attacked on the night of September 13th and the battle continued until the 14th. The Marine line held, with heavy casualties on both sides.

New Zealand Army Encampment
New Zealand Army troops were camped near the ridge in 1944. Their camp included quonset huts and tents. Today, one of the quonset huts erected by the New Zealand army is still standing on the ridge. This structure was not present during the battle.

Barbed Wire Line & Pigtails
One of the few traces of the battle left to this day is a line of American barbed wire on 'pigtails' at the southern spur of the ridge. One of the pigtails was salvaged around 2000, and was later donated to the USMC Museum.

Bloody Ridge Memorial
Located atop Hill 1, near  the site of Col. Edson’s command post. White obelisk memorial on the top of Bloody Ridge. Since 2003, the plaque was missing from the memorial.

Japanese Memorial Tower
Japanese memorial erected in 1985 by the Japanese Army 2nd Division Isamu Society. The plaque reads in Japanese and English: "Memorial Tower: The Guadalcanal War Dead Person in A.D. 1942".

G4M1 Model 11 Betty Manufacture Number 1350
Crashed south-east of the ridge

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Last Updated
October 6, 2009